Door-operating mechanism

ABSTRACT

In a railroad hopper car, a power-operated hopper door opening and closing mechanism for an interconnected pair of sequentially opening and closing overlapping pivotally interconnected master and slave bottom hopper doors, the door-operating mechanism including longitudinally extending drive means having vertically extending lever means pivotally supported on the car center sill and having an upper end portion pivotally connected with air cylinder means for movement of the lever means and having a lower end portion pivotally connected with laterally extending door arm means and movable into overcenter door locking relation therewith, the door arm means connecting with the overlapping master hopper door for opening and closing same and the slave door sequentially thereby, housing means for the lever means mounted on the center sill and having a pair of longitudinally spaced opposed roller stops, roller means in the housing means pivotally carrying the lever means and selectively engageable with one of the two stops and with a fixed abutment on the center sill below the housing means whereby the lever means develops a high-mechanical power advantage moment arm between the air cylinder means and the abutment for initial powered opening of the master door in passing by said overcenter locking relation and a longer moment arm between one of the stops in the housing means and the door arm means for final quick travel gravity opening of both bottom doors. In alternate form additional fulcrum means are provided to give an improved mechanical advantage lever means on closing of the hopper doors.

United States Patent [72] Inventors William R. Shaver;

Ernest J. Nagy, both of Munster, Ind. [21] App1.No. 884,535 [22] Filed Dec. 12, 1969 [45] Patented Jan. 11, 1972 [73] Assignee Pullman Incorporated Chicago, Ill.

[54] DOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM 24 Claims. 13 Drawlng Figs. [52] U.S.Cl. 105/240, 105/251, 105/290 [51] 1nt.Cl B61d7/02, B61d 7/28 [50] Field of Search 105/240, 250, 251, 284, 288, 289, 290, 291, 299, 304; 298/35, 35 M [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 686,902 11/1901 Muller 105/290 3,385,231 5/1968 Dorey 105/250 Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza ABSTRACT: In a railroad hopper car, a poweroperated hopper door opening and closing mechanism for an interconnected pair of sequentially opening and closing overlapping pivotally interconnected master and slave bottom hopper doors, the door-operating mechanism including longitudinally extending drive means having vertically extending lever means pivotally supported on the car center sill and having an upper end portion pivotally connected with air cylinder means for movement of the lever means and having a lower end portion pivotally connected with laterally extending door arm means and movable into overcenter door locking relution therewith, the door nrm means connecting with the overlapping master hopper door for opening and closing same and the slave door sequentially thereby, housing means for the lever means mounted on the center sill and having a pair of longitudinally spaced opposed roller stops, roller means in the housing means pivotally carrying the lever means and selectively engageable with one of the two stops and with a fixed abutment on the center sill below the housing means whereby the lever means develops a high-mechanical power advantage moment arm between the air cylinder means and the abutment for initial powered opening of the master door in passing by said overcenter locking relation and a longer moment arm between one of the stops in the housing means and the door arm means for final quick travel gravity opening of both bottom doors. In

Assistant oresky alternate form additional fulcrum means are provided to give Atmmeys Hllmond vogel and Wayne Momss Russell an improved mechanical advantage lever means on closing of the hopper doors.

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ATT'Y PATENTEB JAN? 1 i972 SHEET H []F 4 INVENTORS WILLIAM R. SHAVER ERNE S T NA G Y -e w 1 DOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM SUMMARY The present invention relates to an improved door operating mechanism for the bottom doors of a railroad hopper car wherein the master or drive door overlaps and supports the slave or driven door longitudinally of the hopper. More in particular the master door is pivotally connected with the slave door such that the master door opens first to subsequently allow the slave door to open in sequential manner, the master door being connected with a door linking or arm means driven by longitudinally extending drive means or force-transmitting means which may be locked in overcenter position with the arm means when the doors are in the closed position. Particularly the longitudinal force-transmitting means of the door opening and closing mechanism is in the form of vertically extending lever means which is pivotally supported by the car center sill in a housing to permit slight horizontal translation of the lever means as it pivots to change the length of the input power moment arm by shifting the fulcrum of the moment arm from a fulcrum member mounted on the center sill below the pivotal connection housing of the lever means to the pivotal connection housing acting as a fulcrum whereby initially a higher force or power stroke is provided to open the master door against the load within the hopper and pass by the overcenter locking relation between the door arm means and the longitudinal drive means and then subsequently provide for quicker travel or a greater amount of movement of the lower portion of the lever means attendant to permitting quick opening of the doors due to the fall of the doors because of gravity and force of the lading in the hopper.

Further the invention provides for a fixed arm means on the master door to pivotally convert with movable arm means pivotally connected to the slave door whereby initial movement of the overlapping master door allows the slave door to be free and clear of the master door with subsequent movement of the slave door to the open position while the master door moves to the open position.

A further modification herein disclosed provides for an additional fulcrum arrangement to give the same mechanical lever advantage to closing the hopper doors as to opening the hopper doors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a railway hopper car;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged top sectional view taken along line 2- 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the lever shown in FIG. 4 illustrated as it would appear with the hopper doors fully opened; and

FIGS. 6 through 13 are schematic illustrations depicting another method of employing a movable pivot lever possessing similar force and displacement characteristics as the levers shown in FIGS. 1 through 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION With reference now to the drawings and in particular with reference to FIG. 1 there is shown the railway hopper car 10 having four hoppers 16 attached to a center sill 14 with the car running on wheels 12 over rails 13; the hopper car 10 is couplable at both ends by means of couplers 15. The four hoppers in which the lading is carried include sidewalls 18, end walls 19 with the end hoppers having angled end walls 20. The angled end walls 20 are terminated at their bottoms with a vertical section 20a of angled end walls 20 having structural members 20b attached at the V-shaped bottom. The vertical section 20a of the angled end wall 20 and the end wall 26 (FIG. I) combine with the hopper doors to form the bottom of the hoppers (see FIG. 3). The hopper doors 21 (which includes inner door 43 and outer door 44 having door pivots 23) move pivotally on an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis 22 of the hopper car 10. Adjacent the end wall 26 and adjacent the vertical section 20a of each hopper there is a door-opening linkage 31 connecting the inner door 43 with the outer door 44. The linkage 31 in combination with the doors 2] and the hopper car structure 32 defines a four-bar mechanism which performs sequential opening of the hopper car doors 21 with the inner master door 43 moving ahead of the outer slave door 44 and thus providing clearance for the outer door when its movement is initiated. The door-opening linkage 31 (FIG. 3) comprises a single pivoted link 34 pivotally connected by pivot means 35 with the double pivot link 33 pivotally connected by second pivot means 35a to the outer door 44. The single pivoted link 34 has a diagonal support member 36 welded at 39 to link 34. The diagonal support member 36 is attached to the inner door 43 by the diagonal support attaching means 38. The single pivoted link 34 is attached to the inner door 43 by the link-attaching means 37. The diagonal support member 36 in combination with the single pivoted link 34 forms a rigid structure which moves in conjunction with the inner door 43. The inner door 43 has a door-strengthening member 40 fixedly attached to the door outer surface 41 and running longitudinally along the length of the door. The doorstrengthening member 40 includes a U-shaped channel member 40a having the greater part of the open ends covered with end plates 40b. An opening 400 is maintained to allow for drainage from the channel member 40a. The inner master door 43 extends underneath and beyond and supports outer slave door 44 in load supporting relation.

The inner door 43 has a door outer surface 41 to which is fixedly attached the strut pivot pocket 45 of the socket assembly 47. The pivot pocket cover 46 is attached to the strut pivot pocket 45 by means of fasteners 62a, thus comprising the socket assembly 47. Within the socket assembly 47 is confined a solid sphere 48 of the strut or arm 49. The spherical portion 48 is located at one end of the strut body 50. The opposite end of the strut body 50 receives a threaded shank 54 by means of its threaded internal section 51 (see FIG. 5). Movable along the length of the threaded shank 54 is a jam nut 52 allowing the threaded shank 54 to be locked onto the strut body 50. Opposite the threaded portion of the shank 54 is a second spherical portion 53.

As best illustrated in FIG. 1, a lever system 55 is utilized in opening and closing the hopper car doors 21. This lever system 55 comprises movable pivot levers 56 which are pivotally connected with lever-connecting drive links 57. Referring now to FIG. 3, the movable pivot levers 56 include a lever bar 58 having its lower end 59 attached on each side with a second socket assembly 61a comprising both a second strut pivot pocket 60 and a second pivot pocket cover 61, both members being connected by fasteners 62. Above the second socket assembly 61a is a stop bar 65 fixedly mounted by weldments 67 in opposed cutouts 64 in the center sill 14 and having a chamfer portion 68 conforming with the contacting adjacent surface of the lever bar 58 as best shown in FIG. 4. The movable pivot levers 56 extend vertically through cutouts 66 in top 74 of center sill 14. At the bottom of the center sill l4 and in the area where the pivot levers move are located L- shaped angle members 70 which extend inward and are fixedly attached on the inside of the center sill 14. G vide members 71 are fixedly attached at the free end of the L-shaped angle members to guide the movable pivot levers 56. Adjacent the guide members 71 and attached to the lever bar 58 are wear plates 73. Members 70 also strengthen and reinforce the center sill.

On the top 74 of the center sill l4 roller housing assemblies 75 are longitudinally spaced. The lever bars 58 of the movable pivot levers 56 extend through the roller housing assembly 75 and are constrained therein. The roller housing assembly 75 as best illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 includes: end plates 76 connected in perpendicular arrangement with L-shaped top restraining members 77; a bottom plate 78 fixedly attached to the top 74 of center sill 14; a solid stop 79 inside one end plate 76; an angled stop 80 inside the opposite end plate 76. All roller housing assembly components are rigidly attached to each other and to the top 74 of the center sill 14. Within the roller housing assembly 75 and attached to the movable pivot lever 56 is the roller assembly 81 including rollers 82 rotating about a roller pivot pin 83 which protrudes through an opening 86 in the lever bar 58 to provide a means for attaching the rollers 82 to each side of the lever bar 58. On the outer faces of the rollers 82 is assembled a washer 84. A hole 87 in the roller pivot pin 83 provides a means for inserting a cotter pin 85 which keeps together the roller assembly 81.

At the top of the movable pivot levers 56 is an upper opening 88 in the lever bar 58. Through this opening 88 is inserted an upper pivot pin 89 having radial holes 90 at its ends. The upper pivot pin is inserted in the lever bar 58 and then lever connecting drive links 57 are assembled on each side of the lever bar. The lever-connecting drive links 57 include U- shaped channel members 95 having openings 96 spaced along their lengths. At each opening 96 is positioned a spacer 91 comprising a flat plate welded to the U-shaped angle member and having an opening corresponding to the opening 96 in the U-shaped channel member 95. The U-shaped channel members 95 are assembled on the upper pivot pins 89.

The lever-connecting drive links 57 are connected to the power source or air cylinder means 103 by pivoted connecting means 101. The power source has a ram 102 attached to the connecting means. Also, the power source 103 is pivoted on the power source pivot means 104. A power source pivot support 105 supports the power source pivotally through the use of a lug I07 fixedly attached to the power source and a power source pivot pin 106 which is inserted through an opening in the lug 107 and through an adjacent opening in the power source pivot support 105.

Referring now to FIG. 3, it is noticed that although the movable pivot levers 56 extend above the center sill 14, they are protected from the lading by means of a shroud 97 which is attached at its bottom to the center sill, extends horizontally therefrom a short distance, then in a substantially vertical direction to above the area where the movable pivot levers 56 move, at which point the two sides are joined, thus defining a substantially V-shaped cover which will not retain lading upon emptying of the hoppers.

FIGS. 6 through 13 illustrate a variation of the movable pivot lever just described. This variation utilizes six slotted movable pivot levers per hopper car, using three per door. The lever consists of a modified lever bar 580 having an arcuate cutout 72. The pivot member 72a is confined within the limits of the cutout 72. The stop 65a combined with the second stop 65b define and limit the movement of the lower part of the lever 56a. The left side 73a of cutout 72 and the right side 73b of cutout 72 define and limit the movement of the lever 560 about pivot member 72a. The stop 65a and the second stop 6511 as well as the pivot member 72a are used as successive fulcrum means during the lever operation.

THE OPERATION Upon operation of the power sources 103 as shown in FIG. 1 which are located at both ends of the hopper car, the ram 102 will begin to move out of the power cylinder toward the middle of the hopper car. Such movement of the ram 102 transmits forces from the power source 103 through the connecting member 101 to the lever connecting drive links 57 causing the drive links to move in the direction of the center of the hopper car. With this movement of the drive links 57 the movable pivot levers 56 begin movement in their respective directions. As illustrated in FIG. 1 the movable pivot levers powered by the power source 103 at the left end of the car will rotate in a clockwise direction and move longitudinally towards the center of the car; the movable pivot levers 56 powered by the power source 103 at the right end of the car will rotate in a counterclockwise direction and also move longitudinally toward the center of the car. The two sets of movable pivot levers 56, one set on the left, one on the right, move in unison, responding to forces provided by their respective power sources 103.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, it may be seen that upon application of a force from the power source 103 through the lever-connecting drive links 57 to the upper pivot pin 89, this force is transmitted to the movable pivot levers 56. Looking particularly at FIG. 4 which illustrates the movable pivot lever 56 in the position it assumes when the hopper doors 21 are closed, it is noted that when a force is applied to the upper pivot pin of the lever bar 58, the lever will begin to move in a counterclockwise direction utilizing the stop bar 65 as the first fulcrum 98 of the movable pivot lever 56 thus defining a high mechanical advantage moment arm. After movement of the bar 58 is initiated the roller assembly 81 moves within the confines of the roller housing assembly 75 rolling on the bottom plate 78 from a position of contact with the angle stop 80 to contact with the solid stop or fulcrum member 79. While the roller assembly 81 is moving within the roller housing assembly 75 the portion of the lever bar 58 adjacent the stop bar 65 will rub along the chamfered portion 68 of the stop bar 65 until contact between the two members is terminated. This rubbing is a result of the linear longitudinal movement at the roller assembly which prevents pure rotation at the lever 56 about the stop bar 65. Contact between lever bar 58 and the stop bar 65 is terminated when the rollers 82 make contact with the solid stop 79; also at this time, the fulcrum of the movable pivot lever 56 shifts from the first fulcrum 98 to the second fulcrum 99 thus defining a lower mechanical advantage moment arm. After this shifting of fulcrum points is accomplished further movement of the lever connecting drive links 57 will result in their being raised (see phantom line, FIG. 4) above the second fulcrum 99 since the drive links 57 are attached to the movable pivot lever which is now pivoting about the second fulcrum 99. This raising of the lever-connecting drive links 57 will continue until the upper pivot pin 89 is directly above the second fulcrum 99. Further longitudinal movement of the lever-connecting drive links past this overpivot position will result in the drive links 57 being lowered. Another event that occurs when the upper pivot pin 89 is directly above the second fulcrum 99 is that the roller assembly 81 which is in contact with the solid stop 79 will begin to move back rapidly across the roller housing assembly 75 toward the angled stop 80. This position is illustrated in FIG. 5 and indicates the position of the movable pivot lever 56 upon completion of hopper car door opening. To close hopper doors 21 a restoring force is supplied by the power source 103 which is applied when the movable pivot lever is in a position as illustrated in FIG. 5. This restoring force from the power source will move the lever bar 58 in a clockwise direction pivotally around the roller pivot pin 83 at fulcrum 100 until the lever bar 58 makes contact with the stop bar 65 which will terminate movement of the lever bar.

Referring again to FIG. 4 which illustrates the position of the movable pivot lever 56 prior to initiation of door opening, we now look particularly at the strut or arm means 49, 49 which provides a pivotal connection between the movable pivot levers 56 and the hopper car doors 21. Each movable pivot lever 56 has a second socket assembly 61a fixedly attached on both sides of the lever bar 58 near the lower end 59., thus causing bending forces on the lever bar 58 transmitted between the movable pivot levers 56 and the struts 49 to be cancelled out by forces transmitted in the opposite direction due to the opposed pair of strut arm means 49, 49 on each side of each of the movable pivot levers 56.

Referring now to FIG. 2 a top view of a single movable pivot lever and its two associate struts as they are positioned with the doors fully closed is illustrated. it is observed that the second solid sphere 53 and the solid sphere 48 are not in line but are displaced from an in-line position in what is called an overcenter relationship or position. In this position forces from the weight of lading which would tend to open the doors are transmitted through the struts 49 to the movable pivot levers 56; however, because the strut is in this overcenter of self-locking position these forces are locking the doors as opposed to opening them if struts were not in this overcenter position. When movement of the movable pivot levers is initiated the hopper car doors 2! do not begin to open until the struts 49 reach an in-line position at which time the solid sphere 48 and the second solid sphere 53 of the strut arm 40 are in an in-line position. This in-line position occurs on a transverse axis relative to the longitudinal axis 22 of the railway hopper car 10. Remembering that the weight of the doors combined with the weight of the lading provides a condition in which the struts 50 are constantly pushing on the socket assemblies 61a of the movable pivot levers 56, it is readily understood that once the struts pass this in-line position upon door opening, the doors will force themselves open. On door opening, the door-opening linkage 31 combines with the doors 21 and the car structure to define a four-bar mechanism which provides sequential opening of the hopper car doors 21 (FIG. 3). This sequential opening is accomplished by the inner, overlapping and supporting door 43 opening ahead of and providing clearance for the outer door 44. The hidden lines in FIG. 3 show the position of the hopper doors 2] when completely opened and also show that the double-pivoted link 33 moves from a substantially vertical position, when connect ing two doors when they are fully closed, to a diagonal position when the doors are fully opened. To close the hopper doors 2] a restoring force is provided by the power source 103 which pulls the top pivot of the movable pivot levers towards their respective ends of the railway hopper car and in so doing causes the second socket assembly 61a of each movable pivot lever 56 to push each strut 49 against each socket assembly 47 of the open innner doors 43. The doors also close in a sequential manner with the outer door 44 reaching a closed position ahead of the inner door 43. This provides better sealing between the two doors in a closed position and allows the inner master door 43 to support the outer slave door 44.

The type of lever illustrated in FIGS. 6 through 13 utilizes two separate fulcrums when moving in one direction and two other fulcrums when moving in the opposite direction utilizing stop 65a and pivot member 72a in combination with the slotted movable pivot lever 56a to form successive fulcrums for the lever when moving as illustrated in FIGS. 6 through 9. When the lever moves as illustrated in FIGS. 10 through 13 it employs the second stop 65!; along with the pivot member 72a in combination with the slotted movable pivot lever to form fulcrum means about which the lever pivots. Force-transmission characteristics accompanying lever movement in this direction are the same as the force-transmission characteristics encountered when the lever is moving in the opposite direction with the lever having a high mechanical advantage moment arm when pivoting about the members 65a and 65b, and having a lower mechanical advantage moment arm when pivoting about member 720.

The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, as those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A railroad hopper car comprising:

longitudinally extending hopper means having bottom discharge door means,

door-operating mechanism for opening and closing said hopper door means,

said hopper door means including a master bottom door means pivotally connected with the hopper means and a slave bottom door means pivotally connected with the hopper means,

link means connecting the master door means with the slave door means and comprising a first relatively fixed link member constrained for movement with the master door means and extending generally perpendicularly therefrom upwardly and a second link member pivotally connected to the free end of the first link member and pivotally connected with the slave door means intermediate the ends of the slave door means,

said slave door means having a lower longitudinally extending edge portion and said master door means having a lower longitudinally extending edge portion passing un-' demeath and supporting the edge portion of the slave door means and preventing opening of said slave door means,

said door operating mechanism comprising longitudinally extending drive means,

door arm means being pivotally connected with said master door means and with said longitudinally extending drive means, said door arm means having a closed hopper door position providing an overcenter lock arrangement between the master door means and the longitudinally extending drive means, the movement of the master door means by movement of the door arm means causing subsequent opening movement of the slave door means wherein the edge portion of the master door means is first moved clear of the edge portion of the slave door means to permit opening of the latter with the door arm means passing overcenter with respect to the master door means and the drive means to a hopper door open position.

2. The invention according to claim 1, and

said longitudinally extending hopper means including a pair of laterally spaced hoppers and said master door means including a pair of laterally spaced inboard master doors and said slave door means including a pair of laterally spaced outboard slave doors,

each hopper being provided with an inboard master door overlapping an outboard slave door and said door arm means including a pair of laterally spaced arms,

said drive means further being provided with a drive lever extending between the hoppers and being pivotally connected to each of the door arms, the other end of each of the door arms being connected to a respective master door, whereby the master door and its associated door arm on each side of the drive lever in passing from closed to open position in an overcenter unlocking manner opposes in opposite and equal manner bending forces developed by the other master door and its associated door arm.

3. The invention according to claim I, and

said longitudinally extending drive means comprising a longitudinally extending lever assembly,

said assembly including a generally longitudinally horizontally extending drive member,

said assembly comprising a plurality of generally vertically extending levers each having their upper end pivotally connected to the drive member and each lever having a lower end,

said door arm means each including a door arm being pivotally connected with said master door means and with the lower end of a respective lever.

4. The invention according to claim 1, and

said drive means including a lever and a longitudinally extending drive member connecting with the lever,

lever pivot means being mounted on said car,

said lever pivot means including a housing having an inboard stop and an outboard stop generally longitudinally and horizontally spaced from the inboard stop,

roller means mounted on said lever and movably supported in the housing for engagement with either of said stops for accommodating pivotal movement of the lever,

a fixed fulcrum member mounted on said car inboardly and below said inboard stop,

said lever in moving from the outboard stop to the inboard stop being fulcrumed about the fulcrum member whereby a high mechanical power moment arm is developed between the drive member moving the lever and the fulcrum member upon initial opening of the door means and whereby when the door arm means moves past center to a door-unlocking position, the roller means fulcrums about the inboard stop to develop a longer moment arm between the door arm means and the inboard stop for quick travel gravity opening of the doors.

5. The invention according to claim 1, and

said drive means including a lever and a longitudinally extending drive member,

lever pivot means being mounted on the car and connecting with said lever for accommodating pivotal movement of the lever,

a fixed fulcrum member mounted on the car inboardly and below said pivot means,

said lever in pivoting from outboard to inboard direction, being fulcrumed about the fulcrum member whereby a high mechanical power moment arm is developed between the drive member moving the lever upon initial opening of the door means and whereby when the door arm means moves past center to a door-unlocking position, the lever fulcrums about the pivot means to develop a longer moment arm between the door arm means and the pivot means for quick travel gravity opening of the doors.

6. A railroad hopper car comprising:

longitudinally extending hopper means,

said hopper means including laterally spaced hoppers on each side of the longitudinal axes of the car, each of said hoppers having bottom discharge door means,

door-operating mechanism for opening and closing said door means,

said hopper door means including a master bottom door means pivotally connected with a respective hopper and a slave bottom door means pivotally connected with said respective hopper,

link means connecting the master door means with the slave door means and comprising a first relatively fixed link member constrained for movement with the master door means and extending generally perpendicularly therefrom and a second link member pivotally connected to the free end of the first link member and pivotally connected with the slave door means intermediate with the ends of the slave door means,

said slave door means having a lower longitudinally extending edge portion and said master door means having a lower longitudinally extending edge portion passing underneath and supporting the edge portion of the slave door means and preventing opening of said slave door means,

said door-operating mechanism comprising longitudinally extending drive means located at said longitudinal axis between the laterally spaced hoppers,

door arm means including a pair of door arms one of each being pivotally connected with a master door means of one hopper and with one side of the drive means and the other door arm being connected on the other side of the drive means and with the master door means of the other hopper, one door arm being generally laterally spaced from the other door arm, each door arm of the door arm means having a closed hopper door position providing an overcenter lock arrangement between each of the master door means and the longitudinally extending drive means, the movement of each of the master door means by each of the door arms causing subsequent opening of the respective associate slave door means wherein the edge portion of each of the master door means is first moved clear of the edge portion of the slave door means to permit opening of the latter with each of the door arms passing overcenter with respect to its master door means and the drive means to an open hopper door position.

7. A railroad hopper car comprising:

longitudinal hopper means for bottom discharge door means,

door-operating mechanism for opening and closing the doors,

said door-operating mechanism comprising a longitudinal extending lever assembly and a drive member for operating the assembly,

said lever assembly comprising lever means having upper portions pivotally connected to the drive member and having lower portions,

door arm means pivotally connected with the door means and to the lower portions of said lever means,

lever pivot means being mounted on the car and connecting with the lever means for accommodating pivotal movement of the lever means,

a fixed fulcrum member mounted on the car below the pivot means, said lever means in pivoting between outboard and inboard direction being fulcrumed about the fulcrum member whereby a high mechanical power moment arm is developed between the drive member moving the lever means upon initial opening of the door means and whereby when the door arm means moves past center to the door-unlocking position, the lever means fulcrums about the pivot means to develop a longer moment arm between the door arm means and the pivot means for quick travel gravity-opening of the door means.

8. The invention according to claim 7, and

said fixed fulcrum member being inboardly of the pivot means.

9. The invention according to claim 7, and

said pivot means including a pivot housing having a pair of opposed stops and a pivot member on the lever means being mounted in the housing and movable between said stops.

10. The invention according to claim 7, and

a second fixed fulcrum mounted on the car outboardly of said first-mentioned fixed fulcrum member and below said pivot means, said lever means in moving from inboard to outboard direction being fulcrumed about said second fulcrum member.

11. The invention according to claim 7, and

said fixed fulcrum member being spaced inboardly of said pivot means,

an additional fulcrum abutment spaced outboardly from the pivot means, said lever means pivoting on said additional fulcrum abutment whereby a high mechanical power moment arm is developed for initial closing of the doors and whereby the lever means fulcrums thereafter about the lever pivot means to develop a longer moment arm between the door arm means and the pivot means for quick closing of the doors.

12. The invention according to claim 7, and

said pivot means comprising a fixed housing having fore and aft pivot member stops and a movable pivot member on the lever means for pivoting the latter, said pivot member shifting between said stops in changing the length of a lever moment arm between the fixed fulcrum member and the pivot member.

13. The invention according to claim 7, and

said pivot means comprising a fixed pivot pin and a generally horizontally elongated slot in the lever means, said lever means being shiftable longitudinally relative to said pin for alternate selective engagement of pin with either end of the slot in changing the length of a lever moment arm between the fixed fulcrum member and the pivot pin.

14. The invention according to claim 13, and

said slot being arcuate to accommodate vertical movement of the lever means.

15. In a railway hopper car having pairs of discharge doors pivoted about a longitudinal axis and opening in response to forces transmitted from a power source, a door-operating lever mechanism including:

pivotal lever means adapted for transmission of forces between an associated power source and the hopper car doors,

first and second fulcrum means,

said lever means pivoting about said first fulcrum means when responding initially to forces from the power source and thus providing a high mechanical advantage with corresponding high forces applied to open the hopper car doors,

said lever means operatively associated with said second fulcrum means and being operative therewith after a predetermined initial travel of the lever means has occurred whereupon said lever means will pivot about said second fulcrum means and have a lower mechanical advantage thus providing lower forces to the hopper doors but permitting a greater movement of said doors.

16. The invention according to claim 15, and

said first fulcrum means including a pivot means extending transversely through the car and combining with the lever to define a long moment arm for forces supplied by the power source.

17. The invention according to claim 15, and

roller housing means,

said second fulcrum means including a roller means affixed to the lever means, said roller means rolling in and constrained by said roller housing means which in combination with the center sill limits longitudinal, transverse and vertical movement of said roller means to define fulcrum means.

18. A railway hopper car having a pair of pivoted hopper discharge doors and a hopper door-operating mechanism, said mechanism including:

door-operating pivotal lever means having fulcrum means,

longitudinally extending drive means pivotally connected with door-operating lever means, said door-operating lever means being pivotally connected with said hopper doors spaced on either side thereof, said lever means responding to forces from the associated power source to open and close simultaneously the spaced doors, said lever means positioned in an overcenter position with respect to the hopper car doors thus providing a selflocking feature to said hopper doors,

when said in-line position is reached the lever means will shift its pivotal action from the first fulcrum means to the second fulcrum means thus allowing greater movement of the lever means to correspond with the increased and more rapid movement of the hopper doors.

19. The invention according to claim 18, and

said hopper doors having arm means extending substantially transversely therefrom and pivotally connected with said lever means and transmitting forces from the lever means to the inner or master door of each pair of hopper doors,

said pairs of hopper doors including a connecting linkage between each door of a pair of laterally spaced interconnected doors providing sequential opening and closing of said pairs of doors.

20. The invention according to claim 18, and

said fulcrum means including first and second fulcrum means,

said arm means connecting one of the pair of doors and the lever means initially in an overcenter self-locked configuration and after initial movement of the lever means the arm means extends transversely of the hopper car in an in-line position with the lever means and thereafter pivoted about a longitudinal axis and opening in response to 10 forces transmitted from a power source, a door operating lever mechanism including:

pivotal lever means for multiplication of forces from said power source and application of said forces to the hopper doors,

a first fixed fulcrum means spaced outwardly and adjacent said pivotal lever means, said lever means pivoting about the first fulcrum means upon application of initial forces from the power source,

said lever means having an arcuate cut out means including first and second end portions,

a second fixed fulcrum means extending within said arcuate cut out portion and alternately engaging one of the end portions and limiting the movement of the pivotal lever means between the end portions,

said second fulcrum means, upon termination of relative movement between said second fulcrum means and said first end portion to define the fulcrum point of the lever means for initial door opening,

a third fulcrum means positioned outwardly and adjacent said lever means and combining with said lever means to form the fulcrum point of the lever means upon application of a restoring or door closing force,

said second fulcrum means and the second end portion of the arcuate cutout means defining another fulcrum point for initial door closing,

said first and third fulcrum means defining long moment arms with the associated power source for multiplication of initial forces from said power source upon initial opening and closing of the hopper car doors,

said second fulcrum means defining a shorter moment arm and consequent lower multiplication of forces from the power source after initial opening and initial closing of the hopper doors.

23. In a railroad hopper car having discharge doors opening and closing in response to forces transmitted from a power source, a door-operating lever mechanism including:

pivotal lever means,

a longitudinally extending drive means pivotally connected with said lever means, said lever means pivotally mounted and connected with an arm means to the hopper car discharge doors,

multiple fulcrum means for pivoting said lever means,

said lever means including means cooperative with the fulcrum means for transmitting forces from a power source to the discharge doors initially with high mechanical advantage followed by lower mechanical advantage thus effecting door opening.

24. The invention according to claim 23, and

additional fulcrum means for providing high mechanical advantage on door closing. 

1. A railroad hopper car comprising: longitudinally extending hopper means having bottom discharge door means, door-operating mechanism for opening and closing said hopper door means, said hopper door means including a master bottom door means pivotally connected with the hopper means and a slave bottom door means pivotally connected with the hopper means, link means connecting the master door means with the slave door means and comprising a first relatively fixed link member constrained for movement with the master door means and extending generally perpendicularly therefrom upwardly and a second link member pivotally connected to the free end of the first link member and pivotally connected with the slave door means intermediate the ends of the slave door means, said slave door means having a lower longitudinally extending edge portion and said master door means having a lower longitudinally extending edge portion passing underneath and supporting the edge portion of the slave door means and preventing opening of said slave door means, said door operating mechanism comprising longitudinally extending drive means, door arm means being pivotally connected with said master door means and with said longitudinally extending drive means, said door arm means having a closed hopper door position providing an overcenter lock arrangement between the master door means and the longitudinally extending drive means, the movement of the master door means by movement of the door arm means causing subsequent opening movement of the slave door means wherein the edge portion of the master door means is first moved clear of the edge portion of the slave door means to permit opening of the latter with the door arm means passing overcenter with respect to the master door means and the drive means to a hopper door open position.
 2. The invention according to claim 1, and said longitudinally extending hopper means including a pair of laterally spaced hoppers and said master door means including a pair of laterally spaced inboard master doors and said slave door means including a pair of laterally spaced outboard slave doors, each hopper being provided with an inboard master door overlapping an outboard slave door and said door arm means including a pair of laterally spaced arms, said drive means further being provided with a drive lever extending between the hoppers and being pivotally connected to each of the door arms, the other end of each of the door arms being connected to a respective master door, whereby the master door and its associated door arm on each side of the drive lever in passing from closed to open position in an overcenter unlocking manner opposes in opposite and equal manner bending forces developed by the other master door and its associated door arm.
 3. The invention according to claim 1, and said longitudinally extending drive means comprising a longitudinally extending lever assembly, said assembly including a generally longitudinally horizontally extending drive member, said assembly comprising a plurality of generally vertically extending levers each having their upper end pivotally connected to the drive member and each lever having a lower end, said door arm means each including a door arm being pivotally connected with said master door means and with the lower end of a respective lever.
 4. The invention according to claim 1, and said drive means including a lever and a longitudinally extending drive member connecting with the lever, lever pivot means being mounted on said car, said lever pivot means including a housing having an inboard stop and an outboard stop generally longitudinally and horizontally spaced from the inboard stop, roller means mounted on said lever and movably supported in the housing for engagement with either of said stops for accommodating pivotal movement of the lever, a fixed fulcrum member mounted on said car inboardly and below said inboard stop, said lever in moving from the outboard stop to the inboard stop being fulcrumed about the fulcrum member whereby a high mechanical power moment arm is developed between the drive member moving the lever and the fulcrum member upon initial opening of the door means and whereby when the door arm means moves past center to a door-unlocking position, the roller means fulcrums about the inboard stop to develop a longer moment arm between the door arm means and the inboard stop for quick travel gravity opening of the doors.
 5. The invention according to claim 1, and said drive means including a lever and a longitudinally extending drive member, lever pivot means being mounted on the car and connecting with said lever for accommodating pivotal movement of the lever, a fixed fulcrum member mounted on the car inboardly and below said pivot means, said lever in pivoting from outboard to inboard direction, being fulcrumed about the fulcrum member whereby a high mechanical power moment arm is developed between the drive member moving the lever upon initial opening of the door means and whereby when the door arm means moves past center to a door-unlocking position, the lever fulcrums about the pivot means to develop a longer moment arm between the door arm means and the pivot means for quick travel gravity opening of the doors.
 6. A railroad hopper car comprising: longitudinally extending hopper means, said hopper means including laterally spaced hoppers on each side of the longitudinal axes of the car, each of said hoppers having bottom discharge door means, door-operating mechanism for opening and closing said door means, said hopper door means including a master bottom door means pivotally connected with a respective hopper and a slave bottom door means pivotally connected with said respective hopper, link means connecting the master door means with the slave door means and comprising a first relatively fixed link member constrained for movement with the master door means and extending generally perpendicularly therefrom and a second link member pivotally connected to the free end of the first link member and pivotally connected with the slave door means intermediate with the ends of the slave door means, said slave door means having a lower longitudinally extending edge portion and said master door means having a lower longitudinally extending edge portion passing underneath and supporting the edge portion of the slave door means and preventing opening of said slave door means, said door-operating mechanism comprising longitudinally extending drive means located at said longitudinal axis between the laterally spaced hoppers, door arm means including a pair of door arms one of each being pivotally connected with a master door means of one hopper and with one side of the drive means and the other door arm being connected on the other side of the drive means and with the master door means of the other hopper, one door arm being generally laterally spaced from the other door arm, each door arm of the door arm means having a closed hopper door position providing an overcenter lock arrangement between each of the master door means and the longitudinally extending drive means, the movement of each of the master door means by each of the door arms causing subsequent opening of the respective associate slave door means wherein the edge portion of each of the master door means is first moved clear of the edge portion of the slave door means to permit opening of the latter with each of the door arms passing overcenter with respect to its master door means and the drive means to an open hopper door position.
 7. A railroad hopper car comprising: longitudinal hopper means for bottom discharge door means, door-operating mechanism for opening and closing the doors, said door-operating mechanism comprising a longitudinal extending lever assembly and a drive member for operating the assembly, said lever assembly comprising lever means having upper portions pivotally connected to the drive member and having lower portions, door arm means pivotally connected with the door means and to the lower portions of said lever means, lever pivot means being mounted on the car and connecting with the lever means for accommodating pivotal movement of the lever means, a fixed fulcrum member mounted on the car below the pivot means, said lever means in pivoting between outboard and inboard direction being fulcrumed about the fulcrum member whereby a high mechanical power moment arm is developed between the drive member moving the lever means upon initial opening of the door means and whereby when the door arm means moves past center to the door-unlocking position, the lever means fulcrums about the pivot means to develop a longer moment arm between the door arm means and the pivot means for quick travel gravity-opening of the door means.
 8. The invention according to claim 7, and said fixed fulcrum member being inboardly of the pivot means.
 9. The invention according to claim 7, and said pivot means including a pivot housing having a pair of opposed stops and a pivot member on the lever means being mounted in the housing and movable between said stops.
 10. The invention according to claim 7, and a second fixed fulcrum mounteD on the car outboardly of said first-mentioned fixed fulcrum member and below said pivot means, said lever means in moving from inboard to outboard direction being fulcrumed about said second fulcrum member.
 11. The invention according to claim 7, and said fixed fulcrum member being spaced inboardly of said pivot means, an additional fulcrum abutment spaced outboardly from the pivot means, said lever means pivoting on said additional fulcrum abutment whereby a high mechanical power moment arm is developed for initial closing of the doors and whereby the lever means fulcrums thereafter about the lever pivot means to develop a longer moment arm between the door arm means and the pivot means for quick closing of the doors.
 12. The invention according to claim 7, and said pivot means comprising a fixed housing having fore and aft pivot member stops and a movable pivot member on the lever means for pivoting the latter, said pivot member shifting between said stops in changing the length of a lever moment arm between the fixed fulcrum member and the pivot member.
 13. The invention according to claim 7, and said pivot means comprising a fixed pivot pin and a generally horizontally elongated slot in the lever means, said lever means being shiftable longitudinally relative to said pin for alternate selective engagement of pin with either end of the slot in changing the length of a lever moment arm between the fixed fulcrum member and the pivot pin.
 14. The invention according to claim 13, and said slot being arcuate to accommodate vertical movement of the lever means.
 15. In a railway hopper car having pairs of discharge doors pivoted about a longitudinal axis and opening in response to forces transmitted from a power source, a door-operating lever mechanism including: pivotal lever means adapted for transmission of forces between an associated power source and the hopper car doors, first and second fulcrum means, said lever means pivoting about said first fulcrum means when responding initially to forces from the power source and thus providing a high mechanical advantage with corresponding high forces applied to open the hopper car doors, said lever means operatively associated with said second fulcrum means and being operative therewith after a predetermined initial travel of the lever means has occurred whereupon said lever means will pivot about said second fulcrum means and have a lower mechanical advantage thus providing lower forces to the hopper doors but permitting a greater movement of said doors.
 16. The invention according to claim 15, and said first fulcrum means including a pivot means extending transversely through the car and combining with the lever to define a long moment arm for forces supplied by the power source.
 17. The invention according to claim 15, and roller housing means, said second fulcrum means including a roller means affixed to the lever means, said roller means rolling in and constrained by said roller housing means which in combination with the center sill limits longitudinal, transverse and vertical movement of said roller means to define fulcrum means.
 18. A railway hopper car having a pair of pivoted hopper discharge doors and a hopper door-operating mechanism, said mechanism including: door-operating pivotal lever means having fulcrum means, longitudinally extending drive means pivotally connected with door-operating lever means, said door-operating lever means being pivotally connected with said hopper doors spaced on either side thereof, said lever means responding to forces from the associated power source to open and close simultaneously the spaced doors, said lever means positioned in an overcenter position with respect to the hopper car doors thus providing a self-locking feature to said hopper doors, when said in-line position is reached the lever means will shift its pivotal action from the first fulcrum means to the second fulcrum means thus allowing greater movement of the lever means to correspond with the increased and more rapid movement of the hopper doors.
 19. The invention according to claim 18, and said hopper doors having arm means extending substantially transversely therefrom and pivotally connected with said lever means and transmitting forces from the lever means to the inner or master door of each pair of hopper doors, said pairs of hopper doors including a connecting linkage between each door of a pair of laterally spaced interconnected doors providing sequential opening and closing of said pairs of doors.
 20. The invention according to claim 18, and said fulcrum means including first and second fulcrum means, said arm means connecting one of the pair of doors and the lever means initially in an overcenter self-locked configuration and after initial movement of the lever means the arm means extends transversely of the hopper car in an in-line position with the lever means and thereafter further movement of the lever means will result in an opening of the hopper car doors.
 21. The invention according to claim 17, and said roller housing means including a stop means to define a third fulcrum means upon completion of door opening, said lever means pivoting about said third fulcrum means upon closing of the hopper car doors.
 22. In a railway hopper car having pairs of discharge doors pivoted about a longitudinal axis and opening in response to forces transmitted from a power source, a door operating lever mechanism including: pivotal lever means for multiplication of forces from said power source and application of said forces to the hopper doors, a first fixed fulcrum means spaced outwardly and adjacent said pivotal lever means, said lever means pivoting about the first fulcrum means upon application of initial forces from the power source, said lever means having an arcuate cut out means including first and second end portions, a second fixed fulcrum means extending within said arcuate cut out portion and alternately engaging one of the end portions and limiting the movement of the pivotal lever means between the end portions, said second fulcrum means, upon termination of relative movement between said second fulcrum means and said first end portion to define the fulcrum point of the lever means for initial door opening, a third fulcrum means positioned outwardly and adjacent said lever means and combining with said lever means to form the fulcrum point of the lever means upon application of a restoring or door closing force, said second fulcrum means and the second end portion of the arcuate cutout means defining another fulcrum point for initial door closing, said first and third fulcrum means defining long moment arms with the associated power source for multiplication of initial forces from said power source upon initial opening and closing of the hopper car doors, said second fulcrum means defining a shorter moment arm and consequent lower multiplication of forces from the power source after initial opening and initial closing of the hopper doors.
 23. In a railroad hopper car having discharge doors opening and closing in response to forces transmitted from a power source, a door-operating lever mechanism including: pivotal lever means, a longitudinally extending drive means pivotally connected with said lever means, said lever means pivotally mounted and connected with an arm means to the hopper car discharge doors, multiple fulcrum means for pivoting said lever means, said lever means including means cooperative with the fulcrum means for transmitting forces from a power source to the discharge doors initially with high mechanical advantage followed by lower mechanical advantage thus effecting door opening.
 24. The invention according to claim 23, and additional fulcrum means for providing high mechanical advantage on door closing. 